In the space of a short few months , the self-styled Islamic State -LRB- also known by the acronym ISIS -RRB- has claimed to have established a fundamentalist state and revived the Caliphate , while seemingly monopolizing the market on young foreign fighters from Europe and North America , while conducting a sophisticated social media and propaganda campaign .

Amid the highly publicized beheadings of Western journalists , soldiers and aid workers accompanied by personal messages to U.S. President Barack Obama , ISIS has established itself as the main jihadist group in the world today , leaving al Qaeda struggling to make an impact .

However , al Qaeda is now fighting back and seem eager to reclaim some of the limelight . In a 55-minute video released less than two weeks ago , the current leader of al Qaeda , Ayman al-Zawahiri , promised to `` raise the flag of Jihad '' and to spread Islamic rule across the South Asia by operating in India , Bangladesh and Myanmar , under the new rubric `` Qaeda al-Jihad . ''

Although government officials are still trying to verify the authenticity of the video , the idea has already been welcomed by the Pakistani Taliban , whilst India has expressed deep concerns over al Qaeda 's plan to establish a permanent presence in the region .

Al-Zawahiri 's announcement did come as a bit of a surprise , as the recent activities of ISIS had been dominating news headlines all over the world and led many to believe that al Qaeda has now dwindled and faded into the background , as newer , younger and more sophisticated groups have replaced it .

As to why the Indian subcontinent has been declared as the new home for al Qaeda , Zawahiri cites the aim of rescuing Muslims from oppression and injustice in the region as the group 's main driving force .

` Muslim lands '

In the video , al-Zawahiri makes reference to tribal violence in Ahmedabad , Gujarat , Assam and Kashmir , as well as violence against the Rohingya Muslims by Buddhists in Myanmar . By arguing that places such as Bangladesh and Myanmar were once `` Muslim lands '' until the enemy occupied and fragmented them , al-Zawahiri proposes that the lives of Muslim people in the region can be improved and liberated through the establishment of an Islamic state guided by Sharia law .

However , the timing of the video suggests the reasons al-Zawahiri gives are surface deep . In truth , this bold announcement by al Qaeda is more likely an attempt to branch out into new and untapped markets that are viewed as beyond the reach of its rival , ISIS . This would be an obvious and natural thing for al Qaeda to do since ISIS clearly has far more success both globally , in terms of publicity , and locally , in that they have eclipsed the local al Qaeda affiliate , Jabhat al Nusra .

ISIS has also managed to do things al Qaeda never could . For one , being primarily focused on fighting a distant enemy -- the West -- al Qaeda has been unable to evolve beyond being a terrorist organization , whilst ISIS has moved from being an al Qaeda offshoot to progressing into a fully-fledged state -- or at least that is how they and their fellow jihadists view things . This has enabled ISIS to attract foreign fighters on a far larger scale than al Qaeda ever did .

More worryingly , from al Qaeda 's perspective , is the fact ISIS seems to be attracting smaller splinter groups previously viewed as being in al Qaeda 's domain of influence . For example , the Algeria-based `` Soldiers of the Caliphate '' group , which was previously viewed as an al Qaeda-linked faction in North Africa , recently declared itself an ally of ISIS .

Regardless of the reasons al Qaeda gives -- or does not give -- as to why it is expanding into the Indian Sub-Continent , the strategic and tactical implications of this move are potentially immense . Firstly , although 80 % of the population is Hindu , according to a 2011 census , India alone houses around 140 million Muslims whilst another 132 million or so Muslims are in Bangladesh . This means roughly one fifth of the world 's Muslims are in these two countries alone , whilst Myanmar is home to a small Muslim community that is being systematically persecuted .

Al Qaeda 's plan will fail

With the Pakistani market being saturated and ISIS increasingly dominating the Middle East , one can understand why al Qaeda has decided to push into this largely untapped market , especially since so few jihadist recruits , in relative terms , have been from these two countries historically .

However , there are good reasons why India and Bangladesh have not been fertile breeding grounds for jihadists in the past . These countries have their extremist minorities too but they have not experienced the large influx of Gulf State largesse that neighboring Pakistan has , and they have much more pluralistic cultural traditions . In the case of India at least , there is also a much more robust democracy and in the case of both countries Islamist-inspired groups do not have significant influence in government .

In all likelihood , al Qaeda 's attempts to branch into India and Bangladesh will fail . In fact , al-Zawahiri is illustrating his cultural naivety by making this announcement and assuming that these countries are just like Pakistan . They have also got off to a very bad start by mistakenly attacking a Pakistan frigate which they mistook for an American aircraft carrier a couple of days ago . Three terrorists were killed and seven arrested in the failed attempt .

It is clear is that al Qaeda is panicking and witnessing the rise of ISIS with dread and jealousy . However , they will have to work a lot harder to regain the momentum they lost after the killing of Osama bin Laden .

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ISIS has established itself as the main jihadist group in the world today

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This has left al-Qaeda struggling to make an impact , according to Quilliam 's Ghaffar Hussain

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Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri promises to `` raise the flag of Jihad '' and spread Islamic rule across S. Asia

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But there are good reasons why India and Bangladesh have not been fertile breeding grounds for jihadists , Hussain says